The annual strategic planning session is one of the first dates to go in to the company year planner. Two valuable days of senior management time, that takes a lot of preparation, and costs a lot of money. It is often the only opportunity we get to step back from the business and indulge in some real creative thinking and take our business to the next level … so why do we dread it?
The feedback reports … the sessions usually kick-off with divisional reports from the different business units. By the third report you are losing the will to live and you are seriously thinking of drowning yourself in the urn of lukewarm coffee. It is almost the same set of reports that you heard at last year’s session, at the last month’s exco meeting and the last board meeting. By the time everyone has presented, there is not a creative thought left in the room. No one wants to ask questions or give feedback … this will just prolong the agony.
They are not really strategic … so often the sessions become a planning and problem solving session. The debate gets stuck in to operational details; and old problems get raised again and again. In one organisation that I worked with, there was an annual bet between two of the directors on how long it would take the FD to raise the issue of company cars! The level and style of debate in strategic planning sessions is often a good indication of whether senior management have lost sight of their strategic roles and become too operational in their outlook.
Nothing ever changes … the ideas have finally started to flow, themes have been identified and a plan is emerging, but time runs out. It is agreed that team members will take responsibility of picking up on the different themes and finalising the plans … but it takes a couple of weeks to receive the typed up versions of the scribbled flip chart sheets, and by then it is difficult to remember exactly what the important issues were. So a few half-hearted telecoms take place but everyone is now distracted with their latest project and so the ideas fade away until next year.
So what can we do?
- Keep the feedback sessions tightly controlled and look for creative ways to distribute the information in advance … for example create a podcast, short video, or run the presentations using a Pecha Kucha or an Ignite format
- Set clear and strategic objectives for the session and constantly check in with these objectives so the session remains on track. Develop a set of rules for the session that everyone signs up to.
- Get creative … develop ‘what if’ questions to help shift thinking, develop activities that stimulate diverse ideas and create a safe environment where there is no such thing as a silly idea
- Keep it visual … make sure that all the ideas are recorded during the session either through a dedicated scribe or using a visual mapping tool such as thinkpod, participlan or even post it notes. This way all participants can take digital photographs of the sheets at the session and time is not wasted typing up lengthy reports.
- Finish the plan … ideally the timing of each element of the session should be planned carefully with the majority of the time dedicated to the idea generation, and planning stages. However, if you still run out of time, then set up a follow up session to complete it. If the plan is not considered a high enough priority to warrant another meeting … it is a strong indication that its chances of implementation are low.
- Communicate the plan … for the rest of the organisation the senior management strategic planning sessions is one of life’s great mysteries. Make sure that time is allocated to share the plans with the implementation teams and there opportunities are created to get feedback and create buy-in.
- Track the plan … the plan needs to become a living document that is constantly updated and adapted to changing circumstances. It must not become just another report that is added to you ‘read later’ pile
Strategic planning events is opportunity to flex our creative and strategic muscles … we need to grab this opportunity rather than waste it listening to boring presentations and practicing our doodling skills!
Mary-Clare Tomes 